Systematization of the images of animal welfare activists' goals

Abstract

Each cultural period has its own style which represents the main idea and purposes expressed by visual and discourse forms. Thus, it is possible to see how the created symbolism imprints the understanding of a period, “positive” and “negative”, the benefits and right trajectories for life. The paper addresses to bioethics as a cross-disciplinary system which was made to protect and respect life, its identity and autonomy. Thus, changes in symbolism can also reflect the purposes of bioethics for a projection of possible options of the future. We can see how verbal symbolism of bioethics works for the growth of requirements which answer the ideas of social altruism. In the recent decades, not only quantitative, but also high-quality growth of charity foundations, organizations, volunteer associations and societies of help in various spheres (health care, ecology, law, sport, culture, etc.) is observed in Russia and around the world. In this paper, a question is raised about the sphere of protection and help for animals. Versions and areas of work of animal protection movements are considered. The analysis of visual expression, motives, coloristic and symbolical visual expression of the organizations is carried out. Conclusions are drawn on the character and the concept of this activity. The main directions of modern concepts of animal protection are animal welfare, that is control of psychological and physical well-being of animals, and animal rights, whose supporters promote the inadmissibility of separate kinds of traditional use of animals by the person in the economic activity. As a result, several directions of animal protection directly or indirectly connected with the main problems are formed: exploitation of animals, use of animals, control over animals, welfare of animals, rights of animals. In practice, work with problems concerning animals is developing so that there are organizations, volunteer movements, charity foundations, initiative groups working in the following directions: organization of promotion, events, actions for informing and changing the society's ideas concerning animals, for developing a humane attitude (animal welfare) to them; theoretical, legal work on protection and release of animals (animal rights); work on rescue of animals: endangered species, pets or animals injured in accidents, in the wild nature (animal rescue); organization of animal shelters, support funds, natural parks, work on rehabilitation of animals, return to the habitat (adoption, shelters, rehab). There is also a specialization in animal species: pets or partners (cats, dogs, etc.), farm animals (cows, sheep, etc.), trade types (fur industry of etc.), animals in experiments (mice, rabbits, monkeys, etc.), wild animals (animals from woods, sea fauna, etc.), rare and endangered species (pandas, tigers, etc.). Thus, “animal activists” are the general concept which unites various categories of people who can initially have various understandings of the good, but are united by the purpose of protecting animals from excessive suffering. The concept “animal welfare” is quite a broad concept based on an ethical position of animal activists who are convinced that each animal has advantages, and each animal must be respected and protected. Investigating symbolism and visual designations of animal protection and areas of organizations' activities, it is possible to allocate some groups, features and subjects. The organizations' work with different species of animals (pets, animals as partners, farm animals, wild animals, marine animals, etc.) can also be reflected visually. The color scale is quite diverse: it is either all colors of the rainbow, or one or two primary colors (black and white, blue, green, red and their shades, orange and yellow). As a general conclusion, it is possible to speak about the visuality of volunteering. It expresses the spirit, the main directions and concepts of work of volunteer organizations of animal protection: care, assistance, responsibility, humanity, protection, mercy, respect for all living beings. Animal activists work to minimize the infliction of harm to the surrounding nature and animals which people uses or which depend on them, and, whenever possible, they pursue benefit and advantage for the nature.